NFL: Browns Wright Got Death Threats Due to Poor Performance?

OTR has a staff full of nutjobs when it comes to sports. We probably spend way too much time reading, watching and writing about sports. Our wives can attest to this.

That said, how friggin’ stupid do you have to be to infringe on a player’s personal life? It’s sports, you morons. So, when we read Cleveland Browns CB (for now) Eric Wright’s comments about his treatment from local fans, it really irritated us.

According to Wright, he received death threats from fans because of his poor performance in 2010.

“I went from people expecting me to be a top cornerback in the league to receiving death threats,” Wright said. “It was a lot to deal with.”

Wright was excellent in 2009, and apparently he was expected to be Darrelle Revis from there on out. In 2010, he fell off a bit, starting with a Week 3 trip to behind the woodshed at the hands of Baltimore Ravens WR Anquan Boldin.

“It’s hard to dig yourself out of that type of hole when you have the worst game of your career,” Wright said. “Then, the team’s losing and we had a young corner in Joe Haden who looked great playing. There was a lot of negative attention around my struggles and it was hard to overcome.”

Wright was then handed too much blame for Terrell Owens’ 10 catch, 220-yard performance when the team played the Cincinnati Bengals. And there were other plays given up as well, and he was blamed again. Did no one else notice that the Browns stink as a team? How can you blame one guy?

“Whether others were there or not, it didn’t matter,” Wright said. “By that time, it’s going to be Eric Wright’s fault.”

Despite the fact that he was actually pretty good in other games, the fans had already turned their ire on him. But…to the point where you are threatening his life? What the hell is wrong with you?

“It was two or three games and a few other plays and it destroys everything you’ve worked hard for as far as making a name for yourself,” Wright said. “By the time people are saying, ‘He [stinks], get him out of there,’ it’s hard to shake.”

Wright is much braver than we are. He didn’t report any of the death threats to the police, because he figured that it was just the Browns fans being passionate. It turns out, he was right. He’s still alive, isn’t he?

“I wasn’t fearing for my life,” he said. “As serious as a death threat may be, I wasn’t going to let a few bad apples ruin the whole tree.”